The measure, approved on a 33- to-1 vote, would add state money to the more than $45 million that has been raised from other government agencies for the project.

The center is sponsored by the city of Oakland, its school district, the East Bay Regional Parks District, and the East Bay Astronomical Society.

Chabot Observatory opened in 1883 in downtown Oakland and has been visited by millions of schoolchildren. It is located, however, on an active slice of the Hayward Fault, and surrounding city lights have diminished its effectiveness.